In The Literature: Ramucirumab Improves OS in Advanced Gastric Cancer Patients

A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, phase 3 trial in advanced gastric cancer patients, compared ramucirumab (Cymraza) plus paclitaxel with placebo plus pacitaxel. The global phase 3 study, conducted in 170 centers across 27 countries in 4 continents, found ramucirumab, a VEGFR-2 antagonist antibody, improved survival by more than 2 months when combined with paclitaxel, compared with the placebo arm. Of the 665 patients aged 18 years or older, 330 were in the ramucirumab arm and 335 were in the placebo arm. Grade 3 or higher adverse events observed in the treatment arm included neutropenia, leucopenia, hypertension, fatigue, anaemia, and abdominal pain.

Trial number on ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01170663

Link to the paper published in Lancet Oncology: http://bit.ly/1uJN54N